Good evening lovely readers! I have finished editing my next video tutorial but have bumped it to tomorrow so that I can fit in a quick card that I made for this week's Paper Craft Crew challenge. here is this week's sketch layout:

Here is the card I made using this layout:

I went with a 4" square card for a change and a Crumb Cake base, then took a strip of Whisper White that I lightly sponged in Soft Sky across the top with Wild Wasabi across the bottom, then stamped the bunny minus the sentiment in Chocolate Chip and coloured him with Crumb Cake ink and a blender pen, before adding a candy dot for his tail. I matted this section on a strip of Chocolate Chip and then added a fringe of Wild Wasabi to the front of the card to make it look like the bunny was hiding in the grass. The new fringe scissors are great for creating grass in an instant and add a lovely texture. I then finished by wrapping some Early Espresso baker's twine around my card and tying in a bow. I stamped the sentiment onto an oval of Crumb Cake cardstock and finished with two co-ordinating banners, stamped using the Banner Blast stamp set and punched out with the matching punch. Both of these items are available free with a spend of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration - contact me or visit my online store if you would like to place a £45 order and receive these gifts for free.

I've had a busy day today so am off to bed for a well-earned rest; back tomorrow with the second in my 'Any Size' box tutorial series. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

One last quick post from me today - call it an early post for tomorrow! I saw the current sketch over at Retrosketches and was really keen to have a go as I managed to squeeze in a little extra crafting time this afternoon, so thought I would combine it with the challenge over at Addicted to CAS this week:

Now I don't have a current coffee stamp, but I do have a cute little stamp that was part of one of last year's Sale-A-Bration sets that I knew would fit the bill. Here is my card: 

I used coffee as the inspiration for my colour scheme too, with my base card of Early Espresso picked up in the co-ordinating baker's twine. I coloured my coffee cup in red to give a pop of colour and embossed my card base with the Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder to add texture and interest.

That's all from me; I'm off to catch up on a little late night TV. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Good evening blog readers! My busy days continue as this week the James juniors are off school as it's half term. Today has been a day of piano and singing practice, book reading and review writing, nail painting and telling the time problems, with a little basketball and a couple of baskets of ironing thrown in! Crafting time is in short supply this week, so today I'm sharing with you a stepped up version of a card that we made in my Sale-A-Bration card class this month. This card was a CASE of this one by Mary Fish, although I tweaked a few things, primarily the colour scheme as I wanted to use the Pistachio Pudding DSP from the Sale-A-Bration set. Here is my card:

I stamped the image twice, once on Whisper White for the label, which I cut out using the Big Shot and Deco label Framelits and once on Summer Starfruit, which is the piece that I used to cut the flowers from. I paper-pieced all four of the flowers on this card and coloured the leaves and stems with a Pistachio Pudding marker, then finished with a few pearls. I think this would make quite a nice Easter card too, with an alternative sentiment.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Good evening blog readers! Today I'm going to share a scrapbook page with you that I made at a recent team training event and designed by the lovely Bekka Prideaux. It features a number of the Sweet Sorbet paper designs and the Petal Parade stamp set - both items that can be yours free during Sale-A-Bration with an order of £45 or more - some new Spring-Summer items and a somewhat overlooked item in the annual catalogue (more on that in a moment). So here is my scrapbook layout:

I decided to use one of my summer holiday photos of Rebecca and Ben as the centrepiece; I have so many amazing photographs from our holiday that I have yet to do something with, so this seemed a good opportunity to start. They are participating in one of my favourite activities at a Disney theme park - no not a roller coaster, but the ritual eating of a Mickey ice-cream bar (I am rather partial to these!) - and the concentration on their faces is a concerted attempt to get them eaten before they melt in the extreme heat!

The bright colours and patterns in the papers make a great background for my photo. Did you spot the 'hidden treasure' from the annual catalogue? The photograph is mounted on to one of the Simply Fabulous Simply Sent cards, with another attached to the Scallop tag Topper Punch piece behind for hidden journaling. These cards are great for quick cards but can also be used for journaling or as a photo mount. Lastly, a fringe cut using the new fringe scissors adds texture and draws the eye in to the focal point.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

I've had the busiest of days today, dominated by last minute preparations for the wedding fair I am exhibiting at tomorrow, so today I've just got time for a quick post to share with you something I made with another of the items you can receive free with a £45 spend during Sale-A-Bration.

There are two My Digital Studio digital ensembles available as part of this year's Sale-A-bration free gift offering - one of them is the 'Hooray for Parties' set, which includes some great designer templates for invitations, thank yous, treat holders and much more. Here's a party invitation I made with it using the basic layout:

This is a great package if you need to make lots of invitations or party bits and pieces and have limited time - you only need to design once, then can just print out as few or as many as you need. And it can be yours free with a spend of £45 or more during Sale-A-Bration before 31st March.

Another busy day ahead tomorrow; if you're local to me and a bride-to-be, do pop in to the Budget Bride Live Wedding Fair at Diana's in Wellingborough - I'll be there talking to brides about how they can make the wedding stationery of their dreams using Stampin' Up! products and I would love to see you too.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

So I didn't quite manage to squeeze in another 'make' for you yesterday, but I'm here bright and breezy (or should that be windswept, given the gales we've had here for the last day or so!) this morning with today's card. Given my recent dalliances with the colour black, I thought I would try something different using black cardstock and one of my most favourite stamps - yes, the Flowerfull Heart (still available to order until Friday if you'd like one - click on the link to my online shop below!) Here is my card:

Now, I know you might be thinking "Anniversary card - on black??!" but hear me out! I wanted to use this stamp again with some heat embossing; I toyed with gold (well, it worked pretty well on this card I think) but eventually decided to use Pool Party embossing powder. My colour combination was inspired by one of the DSP patterns in the Sweet Sorbet pack that is available as one of the free Sale-A-Bration gifts currently when you spend £45 or more - the little blue Pool Party flowers with black centres. I would not necessarily have thought about using these colours together had it not been for this paper. A simple sentiment from the 'Express Yourself' hostess set (such a versatile set of greetings in a very usable font, it can be yours when you host a Stampin' Up! party - contact me to book yours) finishes this simple card.

So what do you think - a colour combination that works or one to be avoided, especially on a romantic card? I'd love to know what you think. I'm also linking this card up with the 'One Layer Card - Anything Goes' challenge over at Less is More this week (currently the only card using black for it's 'white space' - should I be worried?!) and CAS(E) This Sketch as my card uses their sketch again:

Funny how you can use the same two starting points, yet end up with two cards that couldn't be more different. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Flowerfull Heart Wood-Mount Stamp	Pool Party Stampin' Emboss Powder	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Basic Black A4 Card Stock	Envelope Punch Board	Heat Tool - Uk Plug

Today I'm sharing the card that was originally scheduled for yesterday! This card also uses the sketch layout at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I combined it with the colour challenge over at CAS Colours and Sketches this week:

I decided to go with an adult masculine card (it's always good to have a few of these on standby!) and inked up my Simply Sketched hostess set for the focal point of my card:

I stamped the little bird in Chocolate Chip ink and coloured him with a Chocolate Chip marker and blender pen, then used the blue and green to create a simple sponged background. I stamped my sentiment from the same stamp set on the front of the layered banner and used some of the Gingham Garden DSP to add interest without making the card too busy. This piece of Pear Pizzazz DSP seemed to be just right for this card, although you could be forgiven for not even knowing it's there as it isn't typical of the bright pink, indigo and yellow designs that are a key feature of this DSP pack.

I really like the understated finish of this card - and the little bird is perfect for a male card. This is the first time I've used the Simply Sketched stamp set and will definitely be making more with it. It has some lovely sketch stamps and three useful sentiments in a font that works with all kinds of cards. As I mentioned above, this set is an exclusive hostess set that can be yours only when you host a Stampin' Up! party. The current Sale-A-Bration promotion is a great time to host a party - not only will you and your party attendees get a free gift for every £45 you spend, but as the hostess you can earn an additional £25 in hostess benefits for qualifying party sales (£250 or more). If you would like to host a Stampin' Up! party, do give me a call or contact me to book a date.

I hope you like today's card; if you would like to see more ideas for using either today's sketch or the colour scheme, do pop by the Freshly Made Sketches and CAS Colours and Sketches blogs to see what the design teams and participants have created.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad	Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz	Chocolate Chip A4 Card Stock
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper	Blender Pens	Sponge Daubers	Simply Sketched

A bright and cheery post for you today! The weather here in the UK has been less than favourable in recent weeks, with torrential rain, winds and severe flooding in some areas. Whilst I'm not a fan of this time of year myself, I feel thankful that we haven't been impacted by the weather as much as some people. Whilst I know today's card won't fix the country's weather problems, if you're in a part of the country that's struggling I hope at least it raises a smile. The theme over at 'Less is More' this week is 'rainbows' and that's where I took the inspiration from for today's card:

This is certainly a 'less is more' card for me; I created a rainbow using a selection of Brights cardstock using my circles framelits, and stamped my 'See ya later' sale-a-bration stamp onto a cloud that I actually cut out freehand using my Word Bubble framelits as a guide (I needed my cloud to be larger than the framelit size to accommodate the sentiment). I wanted my rainbow to 'disappear' into the cloud so made my rainbow extend beyond a semi-circle.

I think this card has a real feel-good factor about it - rainbows have that effect on you, don't you think? If you'd like more multi-coloured inspiration, pop on over to Less is More and take a look at the other entries - it's also their 3rd birthday this week, so happy birthday wishes to Chrissie, Jen and Mandi and congratulations on such an inspiring blog.

I'm off on a Thai cookery course tonight - I've done a couple of these themed cookery evenings before and they're such fun. Lots of cooking in the kitchen, then you get to sit down and eat the delicious output, without having to do the washing up!!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Word Bubbles Framelits Dies	Circles Collection Framelits Dies
Real Red A4 Card Stock	Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Pacific Point A4 Card Stock	Gumball Green A4 Card Stock
Elegant Eggplant A4 Card Stock	Many Marvelous Markers	Card Stock A4 Soft Sky	See Ya Later Wood-Mount Stamp Set

Good evening lovely blog readers! A super weekend has been had by all in the James household: lots of swimming and crafting in preparation for this week's classes featuring the lovely Sale-A-Bration goodies. Today's card is one I made earlier in the week using the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts this week - here's the sketch:

Whilst I followed the layout of the sketch, I changed out blocks 2 and 4 for heart shapes which I cut with my hearts Framelits - take a look at my card and you'll see what I mean:

I kept my card quite simple and took my colour inspiration from the sheet of paper I used from the new Fresh Prints DSP stack in the Spring-Summer seasonal catalogue. This is a lovely paper stack which predominantly features Real Red, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana and Crumb Cake, but there are a few patterns that include pink too, such as the one I've used here. The sentiment is from the 'Yippee-Skippee!' stamp set and could have several uses: I've used it in the context of a loved one for a Valentine's/anniversary card, but I think it would be great on a baby card to welcome the arrival of twins too. I can also see me using it on a scrapbook page featuring my Junior James' - they are a formidable pair when they get together! Lastly, I embossed the central panel with the SAB decorative dots folder to echo the pattern of the background paper.

I hope you like today's card - if the above sketch layout appeals to you, do pop over to the Pals Paper Arts blog to see what the design team did with the sketch. I have the first of this week's classes tomorrow, but do pop back here for another project - all being well I might even have another video edited for you!

Until then, happy stamping!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack	Primrose Petals A4 Card Stock	Real Red A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Hearts Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Magnetic Platform	Yippee-Skippee!	Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Yes it's arrived - Sale-A-Bration, the best time of the Stampin' Up! year begins today!

Sale--Bration runs from today, 28th January until 31 March 2014 and there is so much to celebrate - you can read all about it by clicking on the brochure in the side bar of my blog, but the key things to know are:

FREE GIFTS: For every £45 you spend during Sale-A-Bration, you get a free exclusive Sale-A-Bration gift - and there are 13 to choose from!

MORE FREE GIFTS: Get £25 more to spend on any Stampin' Up! products with a qualifying party*

EVEN MORE FREE GIFTS: If you decide to join Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration, you can choose £150 worth of products for only £99 (instead of the usual £130). All this in addition to a 20% discount on future product purchases, the ability to order new items in advance of everyone else, along with the wider benefits that joining a company such as Stampin' Up! has to offer. Also, if you join my growing team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators, you will receive additional benefits, including a FREE copy of my Product Table Builder software to help you make the most of your online sales opportunities - this is an exclusive benefit to those who sign up to be a part of my team (worth £35). My team is a mix of those who are hobby demonstrators and those who use Stampin' Up! as a business to earn them additional income and are a great bunch - everyone is welcome and I would love you to join us.

The best way to see these products is to attend my February classes, which will feature Sale-A-Bration products, or give me a call on 07773 421446 and arrange to host your very own Stampin' Up! party. To whet your appetite, I made a short video showcasing lots of the Sale-A-Bration products - they look even better close up than in the brochure, so why not click on the link below and take a look:

I hope that got you all excited - don't forget, please get in touch via joanne@thecraftyowl.co.uk or call me on 07773 421446 if you would like to get your hands on some yourself or click on the links below to hop on over to my online shop! 

Today also sees the launch of the Spring-Summer catalogue, featuring some lovely new products - please check out today's other post for more information on my favourite things!

Lots going on today so back soon with more creative delights; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Products available free with a £45 spend:

Petal Parade Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper	Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Sweet Sorbet Accessory Pack	Good As Gold Card Kit
Banner Blast Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Banner Punch	You're Lovely Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Twisty Treats Kit	Heartfelt Banner Kit
See Ya Later Wood-Mount Stamp Set	Hooray For Parties Digital Ensemble	One Big Sale-A-Bration 2014 Digital Ensemble

*An extra £25 of hostess credits will be earned for all qualifying party sales of £250 or more.